This is the continuation from my last post. If you're yet to read it, you can follow this link to the article before reading this.

As a beginner, self learning was quite a challenge. What I needed to do first was to get very familiar with the keyboard as that was what I will be making use of mostly. I could spend minutes looking for the "@" button and some special characters (yes I was that a novice).

But it was all fun, because everytime I learn something new, I felt so elated and that gave me more courage to keep the learning going.

Although while I was still experimenting with my laptop keyboard, due to curiosity I had started the Python course on my phone. However, majority of my learnings were on my phone.

Many times I hear people trying to get into Tech(most especially coding) worry for not having a laptop. But you don't have to own a laptop for you to start learning coding. You can download apps that enables you to code right from your mobile devices. Yes it's going to be slightly different from using a PC but you'll be surely one step ahead. So why not start now?

In the early days of my learning, I got my priorities wrong by focusing on the score of tests in each module, the "school spirit" in me was manifesting. Whether I understood them well or not, I had good test scores and I thought it was really about that.

Following up on the Twitter tech community, I read a tweet by a known software developer that emphasized on practicing alot. Then I decided to focus more on practicing what I've learnt. I also went on YouTube to learn same topic that was discussed in each module in order to gain more knowledge on a particular topic.

Take a wild guess for a moment, which do you think was more fun to me between learning on mobile and learning on PC?

If your guess is "learning on mobile phone", you guessed right, else, you guessed wrong. Wondering why? Although the mobile view for the website on which the course is, has limited features compared to the desktop view, but being able to study anywhere I find myself was of value to me and it's only my mobile phone that gives me such privilege.

When I said I was able to learn anywhere, I literally meant anywhere . Many times while on transit(probably in Lagos traffic), I was always reading and watching the prerecorded videos. I became addicted to the course. It became my 'go to' when I'm bored.

One challenge I faced was not having a mentor in same Programming language to guide me. Although I directed questions to my brother who doesn't code in Python,but in JavaScript and PHP, it was still a bit challenging having to figure things out myself from alot of research on Google.

It turned out that I was sharpening my research skill also which I wasn't aware of at first, because that's skill a Programmer must have.

Note: If you're a newbie in tech or still hoping to get into Tech. It's preferably to note that you should get a mentor if you can. It's not a must as you can still thrive with or without one, but it's better to be guided than to be unguided in your learning path, you will be prone to mistakes.

After a month of learning the fundamentals of Python, I wasn't sure of what's next. I almost wanted to start applying for jobs 🤣. My curiosity was at its peak. I could remember confidentially telling a friend and coworker (in House Painting and decor) that I had gotten a certificate in Python programming and I will be getting a job soon. If only it was just as easy as that.

I did a research to know what's next and also asked alot of questions after discovering what Backend Development and Frontend development is.

I had applied for a Scholarship on Backend development course sponsored by Ingressive4Good and anchored by Zuri Team, got selected and that was when I actually began my Backend Development journey. The course started almost immediately after the Python programming course.

It happens that before one get started in coding, you are to choose on which stack that suits you. I didn't make the choice willfully, it turned out that the programming language I learnt, Python, is preferrably used at the backend side in Software development. I fell in love with the aspect later on, because it would have been my choice still if I got the right orientation from the start of my learning.

The Zuri Training was quite intensive unlike the previous course I took, where it was self paced. We were given weekly tasks. And despite my tight schedule I was able to meet up by becoming a night owl. It wasn't convenient to do the tasks on my phone so I resorted to doing them on my PC when get back from work. Some of the nights, I was very exhausted and couldn't stay up late.

On my first two weeks at the training, I was just trying to make a good score on each task with no better understanding of what I was doing. I had been told about learning a web framework called Django, for backend development. And I always find it tedious simply because I had the wrong learning mentality. I wasn't ready to take up another course. It was on the third week I fully grasp what I was on to. I became more intentional throughout the course.

In the early stage of the training. We were told that the Project phase would be only for selected few from the Full-time students. Having registered for Part-time I had no hope of joining the Project phase. But in the later end, we were told that few Part-time students would be chosen based on their performance.

I was so elated when I got the email of invitation to the Project phase, which came with a condition. It was stated that the phase was going to be more intense and required devoted time. I decided to devote one month of to the project phase. During the Project phase I was teamed up with Frontend developers, Product designers an co Backend developers. I contributed the project assigned to us which was a website that compares the prices of gadgets and gives the best price from different Marchants. I learnt alot on the project phase as that was where I got to satisfy most of the curiosities I had in the early days of my learning.

The training lasted for four months from May to August 2022, while the project phase lasted through the whole of September 2022. I got certified as a Backend Developer and afterwards I had built personal projects and also colleborated with other developers to build projects outside the confine of the training.

Here's how I was able to go from a total newbie in the Tech system to an actual Backend developer. I remain hopeful on this journey as I continue to learn and explore.

I can't wait to share my experience with you when I finally land a job as a Backend Developer.

The purpose of the article is to inspire someone out there just getting started or planning to get into Tech. You can help to achieve this by sharing this article on your social media timelines. I appreciate your time. Please kindly do well to comment and share your thoughts with me.

Cheers✨